Regent canceling cruises due to chartering them out

[Sunward]

Regent cancelled our March 2024 Caribbean Cruise after having a deposit for over a year. They chartered the entire ship out. Gave us a choice of the following week’s cruise with a different itinerary. No good will gesture of any kind. Or, you could get a refund or they would give us $250 towards another cruise. 
I heard recently they charted out another 2 week cruise with the offering of $250 towards another cruise. Can anyone make sense of why they would offer so little to customers who already have deposits down; yet, are now offering discounts off cruises plus $1000 shipboard credit?
Some people had Anniversary cruises planned, we had 3 rooms booked to take our adult children and much later cruises didn’t work for us, so we took the following week’s cruise with zero, “ I’m story for your inconvenience, here’s some shipboard credit,”etc.

I read Windstar did this as well with no apology, no good gesture. 
Is this becoming a “monkey see, monkey do” with cruise lines if they decide to charter the ship out and you’re just victims to the “power mentality”? 
Thanks in advance for your thoughts. 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Sunward

[Mudhen]

ooo....not too happy to hear that, and so sorry for your incovenience/loss on your March cruise. We're on for a Feb. Caribbean number on the Grandeur. I'd be horrified to hear that was cancelled as we'll be with friends who we are so looking forward to seeing.

I would think Regent could do alot better than a mesily credit...not even a good one.

Keep us posted on how you make out........

[cwn]

This has happened once in a while for years. Seven day cruises in the Caribbean, Alaska and the Med are popular victims. Since bookings open to the public more than 2 years out anything can happen. One of Regents Med cruises was just canceled for a charter….same deal.

Seabourn canceled an Alaskan cruise on us…7 days some years ago. Nothing offered except small OBC. Since then no 7 day cruises for us.

Risk of cruising, like changed  itineraries, bad weather etc.

[Sunward]

I’d o believe some of the people were in the cruises for 2 weeks. And then when Regent chartered one of the weeks, their cruise was canceled. 
No debate that the cruise lines are in financial disarray after Covid. And chartering cruises gives them a big windfall of money immediately in the deposit.  However, to offer something so measly as $250 towards another cruise seems very cheap of them. And any other cruise line that does the same or worse. Especially when there are so many incentives going on to fill the ships. At least give a really nice SBC towards another cruise or more than $250! Especially when you booked in good faith and the prices of cruises have gone up. Thirteen year loyal RSSC customer here….can only imagine how many people would try Regent again if this was their first cruise booked with them? 
I guess some people handle it better than others. Just good business to do more than less to your customers, imo. 

[Pcardad]

I think Regent actually offered up to $750 off a future cruise depending on the length of cruise booked...

[Sunward]

I don’t think it’s $750 of late. It was a recent post elsewhere and they were complaining how little the $250 was, which matched our amount. (We had 3 penthouses booked for one week)

I believe they were on a 2 week cruise, but I could be wrong on that part. Nevertheless, $250 towards a future cruise is pretty measly considering how much the cruises are! 

[Pcardad]

53 minutes ago, Sunward said:

I don’t think it’s $750 of late. It was a recent post elsewhere and they were complaining how little the $250 was, which matched our amount. (We had 3 penthouses booked for one week)

I believe they were on a 2 week cruise, but I could be wrong on that part. Nevertheless, $250 towards a future cruise is pretty measly considering how much the cruises are! 

I had to look it up - it is based on room type.

 

As a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience, we would like to offer you an up to $750 USD Future Cruise Credit (FCC) per guest to put towards a future Regent booking. Suite Category Future Cruise Credit (per guest) Distinctive Suites RS-SS2 $750 USD Penthouse Suites A-C $500 USD Concierge Suites & Below D-H $250 USD

Edited May 27, 2023 by Pcardad

[pappy1022]

This is BS on Regent’s part. If they do this to my cruise I am done with them. I’ve been planning this cruise for a year and nothing they could do would make me feel good about them if they did this to me. I would expect a full refund, including the air deviation, the small group tour extra cost, the insurance I paid for the cruise, and every penny that I spent.

[Pcardad]

13 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

This is BS on Regent’s part. If they do this to my cruise I am done with them. I’ve been planning this cruise for a year and nothing they could do would make me feel good about them if they did this to me. I would expect a full refund, including the air deviation, the small group tour extra cost, the insurance I paid for the cruise, and every penny that I spent.

They are fully refunding the cost. While I don't like it either, this is standard practice in the industry...it is not something new.

[cwn]

3 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

This is BS on Regent’s part. If they do this to my cruise I am done with them. I’ve been planning this cruise for a year and nothing they could do would make me feel good about them if they did this to me. I would expect a full refund, including the air deviation, the small group tour extra cost, the insurance I paid for the cruise, and every penny that I spent.

I don’t anybody has said that they didn’t get their money back. The complaint is they didn’t more! It is a risk cruisers take on shorter cruises to popular places. 
I wouldn’t like it/ didn’t like it. So we no longer book short cruises or like this past Dec we waited until almost time for the cruise to book.

This May happen more often with Regent since they seem have many more 7 day cruises than in the past. On the shorter cruises the passenger mix is different too. Another down side as the ship has a different feel.

[Pcardad]

2 minutes ago, cwn said:

I don’t anybody has said that they didn’t get their money back. The complaint is they didn’t more! It is a risk cruisers take on shorter cruises to popular places. 
I wouldn’t like it/ didn’t like it. So we no longer book short cruises or like this past Dec we waited until almost time for the cruise to book.

This May happen more often with Regent since they seem have many more 7 day cruises than in the past. On the shorter cruises the passenger mix is different too. Another down side as the ship has a different feel.

Sometimes different is better...we don't always see it as a negative. Like any cruise, it all depends on who you get on board.

[cwn]

Just now, Pcardad said:

Sometimes different is better...we don't always see it as a negative. Like any cruise, it all depends on who you get on board.

I am sure the younger crowd doesn’t mind it at all…..and they are port intensive so you are on the go most days.

We use to enjoy that, but now we like a good mix of sea day's maybe 2/1 and at least three weeks on board.The staff really gets to know our likes and this is where Regent really shines.

[pappy1022]

Does Regent provide a refund for the total cost including air deviations, out of pocket for select tours, cost of insurance, and any other out of pocket costs incurred?

[Sunward]

Unfortunately, we can’t afford to take our entire family on 2 week cruises. We have taken them on five 7 day cruises. Mediterranean, Alaska, Greek Islands, Caribbean. Since 2010, this is the first time they have chartered our cruise out. But, we didn’t receive the above monies mentioned. This happened to us early this Spring. 
 

[Pcardad]

1 hour ago, Sunward said:

Unfortunately, we can’t afford to take our entire family on 2 week cruises. We have taken them on five 7 day cruises. Mediterranean, Alaska, Greek Islands, Caribbean. Since 2010, this is the first time they have chartered our cruise out. But, we didn’t receive the above monies mentioned. This happened to us early this Spring. 
 

You only get the discount if you book another cruise....there is no cash reward.

[Pcardad]

2 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

Does Regent provide a refund for the total cost including air deviations, out of pocket for select tours, cost of insurance, and any other out of pocket costs incurred?

They refund anything you paid to them. Third party insurance can be cancelled for a refund before the date of the trip.

[Momo3bigD]

Thankfully the 7 day cruise we are currently on did not get cancelled as this was the only time we could go.  However we were offered lots of incentives to change dates. There is a large group with an insurance company onboard. From listening to their very loud conversations I think they would have been happier on a larger ship in the Caribbean. They are on a free cruise with a Mediterranean itinerary that they did not choose. Lots of complaining about the excursions, the local customs, etc. Two couples said that they are just going to hang out at the pool for the rest of the cruise.  We had to move tables last night in Compass Rose due to the drunken table hopping next to us. And don’t even get me started about the cowboy hats worn during dinner. Definitely not the vibe we expected on this cruise. 

[jmalux]

We were also booked on the March 17, 2024 cruise, which was cancelled. We were informed of the cancellation early February, and the following FCC was offered:

 

2. Instead, guests may choose to receive an up to €900 Future Cruise Credit (FCC).

Suite	Category	Future Cruise Credit (per guest)
Distinctive Suites	RS-SS	€900
Penthouse Suites	A-C	€700
Concierge Suites & Below	D-H	€450

[mrlevin]

Regent, and Radisson before them, have always chartered cruises.  If, in fact, this cruise was canceled more than a year in advance there are no "deviation fees" paid and, in fact, no paid or frequent flyer airline tickets purchased.  Only cost could be insurance which, as pcardad explained, can be transferred to a future trip.

 

Now, those occasional "last minute" charters do get me angry; hopefully more than $250pp in that case.

 

Marc

[mj_holiday]

3 hours ago, mrlevin said:

 If, in fact, this cruise was canceled more than a year in advance there are no "deviation fees" paid and, in fact, no paid or frequent flyer airline tickets purchased.

Deviation fees now would be 210 days prior, if I remember correctly.

 

I book cruises very far out and I would be pretty upset if one of those cruises got cancelled for chartering.

 

 

[Sunward]

I didn’t know it was common practice either. And I agree, it takes time to find the “right” cruise for you. I was particularly upset as it was the itinerary that I loved. I’ve been to the Caribbean many times, as I started cruising as a kid in 1968, but this particular cruise had many stops/islands I had not been to. Thus, the following week’s cruise, which we are taking, does not repeat the itinerary that I had wanted. The reason we did not take a future cruise credit was due to the fact we have adult children with us who want to start a family. They postponed starting until after this cruise as there are restrictions for sailing when pregnant. 
There was a great itinerary on Regent that we supposed to take to the Middle East in April 2020. Dubai to Rome. 21 days. Of course, it was cancelled. And that same itinerary has never been repeated. It ended with some of our favorite places, Capri and Taormina. Thus, to your point, it can take a lot of time to plan a trip. Everyone takes a particular cruise for certain reasons. And the prices keep going up. Not sure the FCC monies allocated from the cruise lines per person covers the cost of the raising prices for the suites that you had booked? 
I will say that in all the years I’ve been cruising, this is the first time I ve been “kicked” off a cruise because they charted out the entire ship. I hate to think this will become a common practice. 
As for people who have been on ships that have been partially chartered out to private groups, you have my sympathy.  I have never heard good things from passengers who have been on those cruises. It appears that those large groups tend to be loud, boisterous and take over the ship. As much as I enjoy having a good time, I don’t want to be around a bunch of cliques, as part of the enjoyment of cruising for us is meeting new people.

As far as cruise lines cancelling cruises before all the air deviations have been paid, etc., once I have a deposit down, I stop looking for another cruise in that same part of the world. It also comes down to cost. The 7 day cruises allow us to take our adult children. We have 2 more planned with them. My husband and I could obviously take more 14 plus day cruises, as we just got off the 14 day Tokyo to Tokyo cruise, but we love traveling with the “kids” (ages 32-40 now) and have always loved exposing them to the world. Epcot was not for me. And we are trying to get as many of them in with them before the little pitter-pat of feet join the family. I’m not a fan anymore of the mega ships (Regent spoiled me on that), so Disney may be out for us. 
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and for joining the discussion. 
victoria

[Sunward]

Totally agree. That’s why I was shocked and not happy. We choose itineraries for specific reasons. I don’t just ”spin a wheel” and pick one!  And I have found some, even 7 day cruise itineraries, are not repeated with the exact same ports of call. We chose that particular cruise because it was going to St. Barts and Nevis. Plus another island or two I have not been to. 
I think some big insurance company chartered the entire ship out. They obviously chose the itinerary for probably the same reason I did! It was good! 

[flossie009]

16 minutes ago, Sunward said:

There was a great itinerary on Regent that we supposed to take to the Middle East in April 2020. Dubai to Rome. 21 days. Of course, it was cancelled. And that same itinerary has never been repeated.

Would a nineteen day cruise from Abu Dhabi to Athens in the Spring of 2024 be suitable for you?

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/NAV240425/summary

 

......... or eighteen nights , Dubai to Athens in 2025:

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/VOY250516/summary

 

You might have to waitlist.

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by flossie009

[Sunward]

That was very kind of you to send that itinerary and suggestion. 
I took a quick look and it’s not quite what I wanted. 
Instead of a cruise, we may just go back to Istanbul. We met a lovely couple last summer on a Safari from there. We stay in touch and have offered they stay with us in Arizona when they get back to the USA. 
Again, thank you for your kindness and suggestion. 

[mrlevin]

44 minutes ago, Sunward said:

 There was a great itinerary on Regent that we supposed to take to the Middle East in April 2020. Dubai to Rome. 21 days. Of course, it was cancelled. And that same itinerary has never been repeated. It ended with some of our favorite places, Capri and Taormina.

If you are still interested in this itinerary, March 2026 Voyager will be going from Dubai to Rome stopping in Taormina, Amalfi Coast (Salerno), and even Jeddah Saudi Arabia.  Not listed as an individual itinerary at this time but part of a Grand Voyage from Port Louis to Rome.  Dubai to Rome segment will be 28 days.  Here is the link to Grand Voyage itinerary:

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/VOY260212C/summary?source=CruiseSearch

 

Marc